Washington

Connected to Washington

At Bank of America, we're committed to helping grow local economies and strengthen the communities we serve. By combining local support and expertise with our national reach, we're connecting customers and communities across the country to the resources they need to thrive.

Every day is a new opportunity to help make life better right here in Seattle.

Whether it’s helping local businesses like Black Raven Brewing Company grow and prosper, supporting nonprofits like FISH Food Banks as they fulfill their mission or helping neighborhoods like the Central Area District become vibrant communities.

If there’s a way to help the people of Seattle thrive and succeed, we'll find it.

David Israel: I was watching some friends adding some candies and cereals to their popcorn, and I got this idea. Pop Gourmet is the highest quality, best-value popcorn product on the market. We wanted to stay in Renton, because that’s where our roots were from and the community was supportive. We literally had lines for months. Actually that’s where I hired, my now-partner Sachin, as a store manager.

SUPER: SACHIN AJITH, VP OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, POP GOURMET POPCORN

Sachin Ajith: David’s the genious. I mean, he’s the guy that comes up with all the great ideas. And I’m the guy that says, “Yes, we can do it.” And, then we’ll figure out how to do it.

David Israel: I mean it sounds easy. I was like, well, you know. We’ll put a microwave in, we’ll pop it, and throw in some stuff. And it wasn’t quite that simple.

Sachin Ajith: As time progressed I mean we went through our ups and downs.David Israel: You’re losing a lot of sleep wondering if you’re going to make it the next day. You know? Having your bank account go to zero, and using your credit card to make a payroll. But, those things are what help us get to the next level.

David Israel: I got a call out of nowhere. They want to put us on Good Morning America. That was huge for us. We weren’t prepared. We had a small factory. And we didn’t know what we were doing for those kinds of orders.

Sachin Ajith: I feel like, I come in, and, I don’t know how twelve hours passed. Because it’s just been so exciting and we’re doing so many different things.

David Israel: We’ve grown this from a three-person team, into now twenty-eight people. We’re going to or Austria or Spain to get the perfect all natural, gluten-free, non-GMO ingredients out there. We won’t spare any expense. We want to be at a higher level.

Sachin Ajith: I am eating popcorn all the time. Not as much as David. David Israel: I think my two favorites today are the Fire Corn and the Rogue Blue. The Almond Roca and the Chocolate Salted Caramel.

David Israel: Bank of America is everywhere. So no matter where we were when we opened our first stores, they were close to everything. But you don’t think that you’re going to have a relationship there, because they’re so big. And we’re so small.

SUPER: MICHAEL BRUNELLE, SMALL BUSINESS BANKING, BANK OF AMERICAMichael Brunelle: They have a model that seemed to be so innovative. It kind of blew me away.

David Israel: The guy that worked here every day couldn’t describe our business as well as my banker does.” It’s remarkable. Michael Brunelle: We can take care of any need that it is that they have. Doing term loans for equipment or lines of credit to help their cash flow. We’re accommodating our clients in a way that no other bank is going to be able to do. I think they are going to be a household name. Everybody is going to know about them. The sky’s the limit for it.David Israel: It makes me smile. Life’s good.

clippervacationsdefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/partnering-locally/articles/clipper-vacations_092512_878x494.jpg|Boat sailing in water with Seattle skyline in the background|Creating Reliable, Travel Solutions in the Pacific Northwest ||

BANK OF AMERICARTP- SEATTLE CLIPPER VACATIONS- As Produced Video Transcript

V/O(DarciHaustveit): Clipper Vacations is a company that’s been in business for twenty-six years.

SUPER: DarviHaustveit, CFO, Clipper Vacations

DarciHaustveit: We run two boats between Seattle and Victoria, passenger service ferries, and then we also have a seasonal boat, which we do a whale and sea life excursion. We also sell hotel accommodations and do tours and excursions. I have never come across anybody in this area that does not know Victoria Clipper.

SUPER: Darrell Bryan, President/CEO, Clipper Vacations

Darrell Bryan: We’ve become a part of the community. Kind of an icon. We’re one of the largest sellers of hotel rooms in the Pacific Northwest. And we employ over two hundred people, during the peak period of our season.

SUPER: Paul Stevens, Sr. Client Manager, Bank of America

Paul Stevens: Myself, and my family, have traveled on the Clipper boats many times, and had some great trips.

SUPER: Jason Mihok, Staff Captain

Jason Mihok: You see a lot of amazing things, the navy vessels that are traveling in and out of Peters Sound. We see aircraft carriers and submarines, wildlife, orca whales…

Darrell Bryan: With our Victoria Clipper Three, which does the whale watching, we have really built that up over the past few years to make it experiential for people. So that they learn about the environment, they learn about the whales. We have a trained naturalist on board. We started as a simple a ferry operator. We soon realized that we would not stay in business if we simply provide transportation. So we’d gotten into travel services. That’s where our growth opportunities are.

DarciHaustveit: Bank of America is a large organization. But you don’t feel that way by being one of their customers. We’re a relatively small company, but we still have complicated things that we need help with and they’re able to provide that help.

Paul Stevens: Bank of America was able to bring to the table, many products and services which none of the other local banks can provide for this size of a company.

DarciHaustveit: The vessels consume a lot of fuel and so we work with Bank of America to try and hedge that risk.

Paul Stevens: Fuel hedging protects them against fluctuations in the cost of diesel fuel.

DarciHaustveit: It helps us to be able to kind of budget a fuel expense. We’re able to pass the savings on to our customers. We recently approached Bank of America about refinancing our vessels so that we could do some improvements.

DarciHaustveit: We put in a new ceiling on one of the boats, updated the bathrooms

Paul Stevens: It looks like a brand new boat when you walk in.

Darrell Bryan: I am very proud of this little company that has remained profitable through tough times. We want results and we have seen those results ever since we signed on with Bank of America.

Creating Reliable, Travel Solutions in the Pacific Northwest/en-us/partnering-locally/clipper-vacations.htmlView Videobankofamerica1359940|enter782|cr-en402Creating Reliable, Travel Solutions in the Pacific Northwest/en-us/partnering-locally/clipper-vacations.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_00||/assets/images/partnering-locally/articles/clipper-vacations_092512_878x494.jpgBoat sailing in water with Seattle skyline in the background

Beaux Bowman: We’re very fortunate in Washington that we live in a large hop-growing region. Washington is the largest hop-growing state in America. Black Raven was started with the idea of starting a neighborhood brewery. We really wanted a place that the neighborhood could go straight to the source. Have some beers there, take some beer to go, and have a really good time.

Beaux Bowman: For us it starts right at the glass. We work our way back. What do we want to taste, what do we want to drink, what do we want to have on the aroma? What do we want it to look like? And from that we backwards build the beer.

Beaux Bowman: I like being in the brewery. I like hands-on, making things. Monitoring, controlling variables, because it’s really all about the yeast. The yeast is doing the hard work. We just steer the yeast in the right direction. And we can usually get, I’d say ninety-five percent of what we’re aiming for on the first batch. And from there we can dial it in.

SUPER: BRENT EVANS, CUSTOMER

Brent Evans: It tastes like, you know, like you’re just eating like a fresh hop. Or like, just like following it down with like a sunflower. That’s what it tastes like. It’s just, every ingredient that they put in the beer you can taste it. Like, they don’t waste anything that they put in the beer at all.

SUPER: KATHRYN GILLESPIE, OWNER, BLACK RAVEN BREWING CO.

Kathryn Gillespie: I think it was back in 2010 the Seattle Times had an article about us on the front page of the section that said something about Black Raven Brewing Company – Washington’s first cult beer, and that seems to be actually what’s going on; it’s, it’s like a cult thing.

SUPER: NIGEL SLATER, SALES MANAGER, BLACK RAVEN BREWING COMPANY

Nigel Slater: Every single drop of beer that we make, is pretty much pre-sold. So my job right now has become more of allocating where the beer goes. And I’m eventually going to get to those people, and knock on their doors and say it’s right here, right now. But, not just yet. They’re going to have to wait.

Beaux Bowman: We took on more space in the building. Also increasing production capacity in the back. Bank of America, allowed us the access to the capital and to be able to take the next step that we really desperately needed to take.

SUPER: JEFF GRIMES, SMALL BUSINESS BANKING, BANK OF AMERICA

Jeff Grimes: Black Raven has grown tremendously. Bank of America, you know, definitely wants to be a big part of their growth. We are helping them, you know, to guide them into that direction – to own the facility, to, um, handle their capacity, help future growth. Small business is a huge part of this economy and for the economy to grow we need small businesses to thrive.

Beaux Bowman: The secret to the success of Black Raven – We’re all putting in 100%, we’re listening to the market, the consumer, our customers and moving forward.

monicasvillageplacedefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/partnering-locally/articles/monicas-village-place_092512_878x494.jpg|Children reading at Monica’s Village Place|Finding a Way Home for Families in Seattle ||

BANK OF AMERICARTP-Seattle-Monica’s Village- As Produced Video Transcript

SUPER: Evelyn Thomas Allen, Director of The Village Spirit, Center for Catholic Housing Services, Monica’s Village Place

Evelyn Thomas Allen: Monica’s Village Place one is affordable housing that was designed to address the needs of the black community. And to provide them with a beautiful home to live in, but also wrap around them services that help them move to a better quality of life.

SUPER: Janet Laskey, Sr. Client Manager, Bank of America

Janet Laskey: Monica’s Village is a great project. They are fifty-one housing units. A lot of the residents, thirty-eight of them, were formerly homeless and living here their children. They can live here long-term, and it provides a really great level of support. Everything from helping the children to helping the parents, to really providing a true transition for people who have not been the luckiest in their life.

SUPER: Heather Perin, Resident, Monica’s Village Place

Heather Perin: Monica’s Village gives parents like me the opportunity to have resources which is the computer lab the community meetings, the support, the teamwork, just having somewhere to go, and it’s your own. And it gives you the benefits to raise your children in a good, stable, environment.

Janet Laskey: This is a community of families that can work together, that can have people who can help them, and that can really grow and thrive. And that’s part of what we’re trying to create. Not just a building, and not just a home, but a community.

Evelyn Thomas Allen: Bank of America was willing to come in and invest in our project and invest in our community, and really make what we had dreamed.

Janet Laskey: We were a construction lender, and then we also are an equity provider that doesn’t need to be repaid in exchange for the project remaining affordable.

Evelyn Thomas Allen: It’s really difficult to articulate a smile or how our partners like Bank of America bring hope and make a person’s dreams possible.

Heather Perin: I love the place. I’m glad to be a part of the community. I plan on pursuing my BA in Criminal Justice, so that I can be a homeowner one day, and I can look back and say that I did that because of Monica’s Village.

Finding a Way Home for Families in Seattle/en-us/partnering-locally/monicas-village-place.htmlGet the whole storybankofamerica1359940|enter782|cr-en402Helping those in need take a permanent step out of poverty in Seattle./en-us/partnering-locally/monicas-village-place.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_859||1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||/assets/images/partnering-locally/content-targeting-homepage-tiles/monicas-village-place_092512_400x400.jpgChildren reading at Monica’s Village Place

seattle-uwajimayadefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/partnering-locally/local-markets-2/LM_356_242x167.jpg|Uwajimaya|Feeding the Needs of an Entire Community A 60-year relationship with us has helped this Asian retailer expand, add stores and create jobs.||Investing and Empowering Biotech Innovations in Massachusetts|/partnering-locally/high-res-bio.html|_SELF||Ozinga has been a Part of Chicago's Growth and Iconic Skyline for Generations|/partnering-locally/ozinga.html|_SELF||A Sweet Dream: The Best of Chocolates Under One Roof|/partnering-locally/cocoa-bella-chocolates.html|_SELF||Helping Small and Medium-Sized Businesses to Fuel the Economy|/partnering-locally/sid-taylor.html|_SELF||Lean, Green, Clean: Investing in San Diego as a Hub of Clean Tech|/partnering-locally/cleantech.html|_SELF||Bank of America’s $10 Million Grant Program to CDFIs Unlocks Federal Funds for Small Businesses|/partnering-locally/10million-grant-program.html|_SELF

Transcript – How “fish cakes and a dream” led to the growth of an Asian grocery retailer

Tomiko Moriguchi Matsuno, CEO & President, Uwajimaya: Uwajimaya is a Japanese-American family owned grocery and gift store and we have a wholesale division that sells Asian products to restaurants. My father came to America and was gonna make 5,000 and go back home and live like a king. That didn’t happen. So in 1928 he opened the store in Tacoma making fish cakes, selling them from the back of his truck to farmers around Washington State. And in 1942 of course they were sent away.

Tomio Moriguchi, Chairman of the Board, Uwajimaya: Japanese Americans lost their business. They lost everything. When the war ended, my father came back to Seattle and then restarted the Uwajimaya business.

Tomiko Moriguchi Matsuno, CEO & President, Uwajimaya: In 1945 when my family opened the store, of course they needed some money and Bank of America was the only bank who would talk to my father. And we’ve stayed with Bank of America.

Tomio Moriguchi, Chairman of the Board, Uwajimaya: We’re very fortunate. We have some [people] that have been with us 25-30 years. If you treat the employees well, they treat the customers well, they come back, and we continue to grow.

Maria Parks, Employee, Uwajimaya: There is a lot more multi-culturalism here.

Jeff Kaisaki, Produce Manager, Uwajimaya: We have everybody from every nation in the world.

Chris McCormack, Senior Client Manager, Bank of America, Western Washington: I grew up in the Seattle area and 5th or 6th grade classes would go on field trips to the international district and one of the main attractions was the Uwajimaya store. So that’s really my first experience. I’ve been hooked ever since. Over the years we’ve provided loans to help them grow the business, open new stores, Tomiko and I talk about best practices in the industry, what might be available to help them run their business better.

Tomiko Moriguchi Matsuno, CEO & President, Uwajimaya: The surprise is that we can still have such a human relationship with a big, big bank who wants to see us grow.

Feeding the Needs of an Entire Community /en-us/partnering-locally/uwajimaya.htmlView Videobankofamerica1359940|enter782|cr-en402/en-us/partnering-locally/uwajimaya.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||/assets/images/partnering-locally/local-markets-2/LM_356_878x494.jpguwajimaya

dicksdriveindefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/partnering-locally/local-markets-3/video-stills/dicks-drive-in_07302012_242x167.jpg|Vice President James Spady in blue shirt sitting in Dick's Drive-In restaurant|Can burgers keep a community healthy? ||

V/O (Jim Spady): My dad was the first person in his extended family to go to college.

SUPER: Jim Spady, Vice President, Dick’s Drive-In Restaurants

Jim Spady: He graduates, 1950. Of course, what happens is the Korean War. Units called up…

SUPER: Dick Spady, President, Dick’s Drive-In Restaurants

Dick Spady: And I served in Southern Japan, as a Commissary Officer, feeding ten thousand troops. Got back from war, and one day I was having lunch-

Jim Spady: Right behind the counter, is this refrigerator filled with hamburger patties.

Dick Spady: And I said ‘My gosh, how long does it take you to use that?’

Jim Spady: The guy behind the counter says, ‘Oh, we go through that in a day, plus another one twice as big’ And his entrepreneurial instincts kick in, and he goes ‘If you made just a nickel, for every hamburger you sold, you’d have a pretty good business.’ We are memories. And when people have one of our burgers today, they remember. Or they’re making new memories now with their own children or grandchildren. Must be something in the milkshakes.

(V/O Kaleb England): Everyone knows about Dicks.

SUPER: Kaleb England, Employee

Kaleb England: People in my line, if I’m on the till, they’re like ‘I drove ten thousand miles just to get here.’ It’s like a Seattle Staple.

V/O (Bob Luciano) : Back in the college days it was a great hangout.

SUPER: Bob Luciano, Senior Client Manager, Bank of America

Bob Luciano: As I go now, bring my children there, it always puts a smile on my face because I remember the memories that I have from first going to Dick’s.

Jim Spady: My dad and his two co-founders, opened the first restaurant in 1954. We’ve been here for fifty-eight years, and we have five very successful restaurants here in the city of Seattle. And it’d been thirty-seven years since we opened a new restaurant. We thought, ‘This is a pretty big decision for us’. And my wife had the great idea, ‘Let’s ask the customers.’ We had an online poll, and a hundred and fifteen thousand people voted in a couple of weeks.

Bob Luciano: I actually learned about the new store opening online, and I had met Jim. And when I saw that, I circled right back and said, ‘Hey, we are very, very interested in doing the financing for you.’

Jim Spady: I told him at the beginning, ‘You’re gonna have to be head-and-shoulders above the other banks if you’re gonna get this loan. And Bank of America blew away the competition. Our new restaurant up in Edmonds, had been our most successful restaurant since the day it opened. And we couldn’t have built the new restaurant without Bank of America’s help. My dad’s always said that a business has to invest in your local community. So, we have a “Change For Charity” program, that’s raised over a half a million dollars. We’ve been a part of this town for a long time. People will know we care about our employees and we provide them with great pay and great benefits.

Kalab England: We even get scholarship money which I took advantage of. Just graduated a couple weeks ago. I wouldn’t of done it without Dick’s for sure.

Jim Spady: In the long run, if you care about your employees ,your employees are going to care about you. They’re gonna care about your customers, and then that’s gonna to be good for your business. And it’s worked for us for fifty-eight years.

Can burgers keep a community healthy? /en-us/partnering-locally/dicks-drive-in.htmlView Videobankofamerica1359940|enter782|cr-en402/en-us/partnering-locally/dicks-drive-in.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||

seattle-farestartdefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/partnering-locally/local-markets/LM_160_242x167.jpg|Seattle FareStart|See How We Support Culinary Training ||

TRANSCRIPT – GIVING THE HOMELESS IN SEATTLE A FRESH START IN LIFE

Megan Karch, Executive Director, FareStart: I feel like I was very fortunate in life. My family gave me a sense of connection, a sense of community. That was gift, it wasn’t something I earned. Students that walk through our door either were never given that or they lost it for one reason or another. And our job is to give it back to them. We’re helping individuals who are homeless or at risk for being homeless, learn a trade, get a job, and take back their life.

Trenita Harris, Chef Trainer, FareStart: We have people that walk in on day one and they sit in a corner and they don’t want to speak with anyone or work with anyone. By day 10, they’re in with the group. Now you’re having conversation. I am a chef trainer here at FareStart making sure they’re prepared to take a knife test. That they can multiply and divide a recipe that they have the skills to get those jobs done.

Than Nguyen, Employee Specialist Manager, FareStart: FareStart is not just kitchen skills but also life skills. How do you do interviews, how do you talk to your supervisor?

Megan Karch, Executive Director, FareStart: We’re providing case management, mental health counseling, drug and alcohol counseling. All of the support services that they would need and we provide housing for that.

Steve Douglas, Graduate, FareStart: The opportunity to come here and to learn everything from commercial kitchens to restaurant cooking to prep cooking, every area has been new for me so it’s been exciting every day and I’ve loved every minute of it.

Megan Karch, Executive Director, FareStart: We have strong partnerships with restaurants, assisted living centers, and the partnerships really help create the opportunities for our students once they graduate.

Megan Karch, Executive Director, FareStart: FareStart is in downtown Seattle where business people are because that’s critical to connect community to the issue of homelessness.

Bob Peters, Washington State President, Bank of America: We’ve taken both clients and groups within the bag down to FareStart. It’s more than the meal. It reminds us to support non-profits. Our whole community benefits from that. And FareStart is an excellent example of what is possible.

Megan Karch, Executive Director, FareStart: We have about 300 individuals in our training program. Every year over 80% of them are getting jobs within 90 days after graduation. 85% are achieving housing stability – that’s how we define success. The community gave us this fabulous new building. So we’ve been able to double the number of students. And our Bank of America grant was a large reason we were able to do that. We’re expanding our business side into wholesale food and we’re helping people throughout the country start similar models in their city.

Steve Douglas, Graduate, FareStart: They want you to be successful and they give you the tools to do that; that doesn’t happen everywhere. It’s the best gift I’ve ever been given.

Trenita Harris, Chef Trainer, FareStart: I can use my skill, my craft to help somebody help themselves.

Megan Karch, Executive Director, FareStart: When you impact one life, you impact many. And you see wow, we’ve not only had an impact on one of our students but we’ve had an impact on their kids and that next generation.

Steve Douglas, Graduate, FareStart: I can be a father again, I can be employable again and actually have a future again.

See How We Support Culinary Training/en-us/partnering-locally/farestart.htmlView Videobankofamerica1359940|enter782|cr-en402/en-us/partnering-locally/farestart.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||

Advertising Practices

We strive to provide you with information about products and services you might find interesting and useful. Relationship-based ads and online behavioral advertising help us do that.

Here’s how it works: We gather information about your online activities, such as the searches you conduct on our Sites and the pages you visit. This information may be used to deliver advertising on our Sites and offline (for example, by phone, email and direct mail) that’s customized to meet specific interests you may have.

If you prefer that we not use this information, you can opt out of online behavioral advertising. If you opt out, though, you may still receive generic advertising.Also, if you opt out of online behavioral advertising, you may still see ads when you sign in to your account, for example through Online Banking or MyMerrill. These ads are based on your specific account relationships with us.

This material does not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situations or needs and is not intended as a recommendation, offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security, financial instrument, or strategy. Before acting on any information in this material, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and, if necessary, seek professional advice. Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only correct as of the stated date of their issue.

Merrill Lynch makes available products and services offered by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (MLPF&S), a registered broker-dealer, Member FINRA and Member Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), and other subsidiaries of Bank of America Corporation. Insurance and annuity products are offered through Merrill Lynch Life Agency Inc., a licensed insurance agency and wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation. U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management operates through Bank of America, N.A., and other subsidiaries of BofA Corp.

Trust and fiduciary services are provided by Merrill Lynch Trust Company, a division of Bank of America, N.A. Banking products are provided by Bank of America, N.A. and affiliated banks, Members FDIC and wholly owned subsidiaries of Bank of America Corporation.

Investing in securities involves risks, and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities.

Investment products, insurance and annuity products: Are Not FDIC Insured | Are Not Bank Guaranteed | May Lose Value | Are Not Deposits | Are Not Insured by Any Federal Government Agency | Are Not a Condition to Any Banking Service or Activity

MLPF&S and Bank of America, N.A. make available investment products sponsored, managed, distributed or provided by companies that are affiliates of Bank of America Corporation or in which Bank of America Corporation has a substantial economic interest, including BofA™ Global Capital Management.

Certain content contained herein may have been produced by an outside party that is not affiliated with Bank of America Corporation and its subsidiaries ("BofA Corp"). Opinions and/or ideas expressed are not necessarily those of BofA Corp. Certain links may direct you to a site that is unaffiliated with BofA Corp. BofA Corp has not been involved in the preparation of the content supplied at the unaffiliated sites and does not guarantee or assume any responsibility for its content.